I bought this because corsair is a trusted brand, and has good timings. I could of gotten the other one for 3 dollars cheaper, but this one has heat spreaders, which drew me in because it would help. I figure 1 GB is enough for now, and I'll buy new ones when needed.Cost - $79.00 + Free Shipping = Subtotal - $79.00

Since this does happen to be a budget computer, I picked out an entry level graphics card. This graphics card can handle the games that I plan to play, since I don't plan to do any heavy duty gaming. It can handle Guild Wars, WoW, Vista, CS:S, and hopefully Spore. That means I'm all set. SLI Compatible, so I can boost it's performance.Cost - $76.99 + $5.64 = $82.63 + $79.00 = $161.63

I chose this case for many reasons. It has a fan control, which will be very helpful if I ever want to overclock. It also has a temperature display, also very helpful. LED lights are a nice touch, and it looks good.Cost - $59.99 + $12.99 = $72.98 + $229.64 = 302.62

A nice healthy choice for a motherboard. SLI capabilities, will boost up my graphics card which I need. Two PCI-Express x16 slots, helpful if I want a new graphics card but do not want to get rid of my old one. Dual channel DDR2, which means that I can go up to 16 GB of ram [Not like I would need to]. AM2 Compatible, best motherboard I could get for a budget.Cost - $89.99 + $6.13 = $92.16 + $378.62 = $470.78

Hard Drive

I'll just keep my old hard drive, I'll upgrade it when I need to. 40 GB is alright for now.

I'm going to buy four of these. Why am I buying four of these you ask? Well, they're cheap and the reviews say that are very good. Also, the case I have has places for two 80mm fans in the front, and they say to replace the side air duct for a 80mm fan. Well, I say I'll probably need this if I want a very cool case.

If I buy that and get rid of the 3200+ AM2 processor and the other motherboard, I could have a dual core for 6 dollars less than the am2 processor. However! The motherboard in the combo deal is what is holding me back. For one thing, it does not have SLI capability, which will essentially slow down my graphics card. It also has one PCI Express card, slowing down my graphics even more. Other than that, it's fine. So i'll ask you guys. Should I get the combo deal with the dual processor, or should I just go with the single processor and the better motherboard?

You misread my post, I posted that the combo deal does NOT have SLI capabilities, so it will slow down my graphics card because the other motherboard does. Also, how slow to start is it? If it's like 5 seconds then that is fine, 10 seconds is fine to. Heck, I can wait 30 seconds.

And I have yet to use a antistatic product and I spent way more on my computer, you will be fine unless you plan on wearing wool socks and scootin' along your carpet for a minute. If your that worried just touch a piece of metal or your CRT TV before building.

Please do NOT doublepost, and SLI technology makes every nvidia graphics card faster than if it was not connected to one. Also, there's always a chance I could build up some static with my clothes or something.

Well you have 17 posts trying to boss me around and talk about things you have no clue about. It has absolutely IMPACT ON NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARD PERFORMANCE WHETHER OR NOT IT IS CONNECTED TO A SLI MOTHERBOARD

Finest, please do some research before you talk to me about these things. What you're basically saying is that two graphics card same brand connected to the same motherboard has no impact on performance. Please do some research and control your anger, just because I have 18 posts doesn't mean I can't be smarter than you about computers.

SLI technology makes every nvidia graphics card faster than if it was not connected to one

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SLI improves video performance when two identical cards are connected via SLI (which lets them basically operate as one powerful card). SLI does not make a single card any faster. if only using a single video card, there will be no performance difference between an SLI or non-SLI motherboard.

Needle said:

Also, there's always a chance I could build up some static with my clothes or something.

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indeed... you should always were a grounding strap or at least touch a grounded metal object before handling any electronic component in your PC.

I've got to hand it to you, your original post has got to be the most in-depth and thorough I have ever seen for somebody asking for advice. bravo my friend I see that you finally decided to ditch the old socket-478 upgrade for a more modern system.

I would definitely say that combo deal is the better choice. the future is multi-core, you can't go wrong with that deal. as already mentioned, the lack of SLI support on the biostar mobo will not have any effect on your single video card performance.

I would however suggest that you buy 10 of those masscool fans. reason being the shipping is free when you buy 10 or more (as opposed to $3.47 each otherwise), you will get 10 fans for less than 4 would cost

also, I'm not sying that Rosewill is bad, but they are not generally considered to be a quality name in the PSU market. so just to be on the safe side, for that price range I would recommend a PSU from Antec or Enermax as they have a proven track record behind them for quality low-cost PSU's.

I've got to hand it to you, your original post has got to be the most in-depth and thorough I have ever seen for somebody asking for advice. bravo my friend I see that you finally decided to ditch the old socket-478 upgrade for a more modern system.

I would definitely say that combo deal is the better choice. the future is multi-core, you can't go wrong with that deal. as already mentioned, the lack of SLI support on the biostar mobo will not have any effect on your single video card performance.

I would however suggest that you buy 10 of those masscool fans. reason being the shipping is free when you buy 10 or more (as opposed to $3.47 each otherwise), you will get 10 fans for less than 4 would cost

also, I'm not sying that Rosewill is bad, but they are not generally considered to be a quality name in the PSU market. so just to be on the safe side, for that price range I would recommend a PSU from Antec or Enermax as they have a proven track record behind them for quality low-cost PSU's.

:wave:

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Also, you can't go wrong with a 40$ 400W Fortron Source (FSP Group) (or one of the higher models).

I'm not sure. The reviews say that Rosewill and Newegg are very good about RMAing things, if I get a faulty power supply I could just RMA it, right? Also, if I got that 400 Watt, I would be losing 150 watts from my computer, which is not a good thing. Thanks for the advice, but I think I'll take a risk and try the Rosewill.

don't pay any attention to newegg reviews, 99% of them are completely useless. they often have nothing relevant to say about the item's quality or reliability. if the thing turns on they say it's awesome, it they make a mistake they blame it on a faulty component and say it's a bad item (when the item itself was fine).

watts are not important. +12V amperage, tight voltage regulation, and reliable protection circuitry are the most important factors to look for. 400 watts is more than enough if the PSU has strong 12V rails.

yes, newegg is good about RMA's, but do you really want that aggravation? IMHO, it would be wiser to buy a known reputable brand than risk losing your system to a PSU with unknown reliability.